Walking Into New Rooms With Gratitude

We shared this news recently on social media and via email… but I wanted to come here and say it a little differently/share my thoughts!

I’ve been invited to join the Advisory Board of the New Jersey Financial Educators Council. And while I’m so incredibly grateful, I’ve also just been sitting with it.

Thinking about how I got here.

When I started Clever Girl Finance, I didn’t have some perfectly mapped-out master plan. I just knew I wanted to help women with their money. I wanted to reach as many women as possible and make financial education feel simple, approachable, and actually useful.

That was the goal.

And somehow… through consistency, faith, and a lot of mistakes, failures, tears and figuring things out along the way, that small goal has grown into something much bigger than I imagined.

Truly, I can only describe it as God’s grace and divine planning.

Because there were so many moments where I didn’t have all the answers. Moments where things felt uncertain. Moments where I was just taking the next step and trusting it would make sense later.

And now, I look up and realize, I’ve been walking into rooms I once had no idea existed.

This is one of those rooms.

And if I’m being real, on the days when I feel tired, or discouraged, or like things aren’t moving fast enough… I remind myself of moments like this.

Not to brag and not to dwell, but to really ground myself.

To remember that the work matters. That progress is happening, even when it doesn’t always feel like it in the day-to-day.

And also to remind myself that I’m capable of more than I sometimes give myself credit for.

So yes, I’m so incredibly grateful. Grateful for the journey, the growth, and the responsibility that comes with continuing this work at a higher level.

And of course, none of this exists without you.

Every message, every share, every time you’ve trusted me with your time or your attention, it all adds up in ways we don’t always see right away.

Anyway… just wanted to share that with you here, in a more real way.

More soon.
Bola ❤️